Cephiro Ruins
by Carmel Evers
Summary: MAIN: Listen to the past so that we may understand the present. This is my version of Cephiro's past. CH 2 & 3 update: We get a little more background on Setie and Sienne meets Anshell. Enjoy and R&R please, thank you!
1. CR Prologue: In Darkness

Disclaimer: Magic Knight Rayearth does not belong to me but to Clamp. But all ideas and new characters in my story are original: end disclaimer.

Three Cephiro

Prologue In Darkness

A man sheathed in darkness slowly stretched his left arm away from him to the furthest extent possible. His fingers, covered in blood and dirt, silently acted as transmitters, sensing the environment for any dangers. From a large gash on his shoulder, blood quietly trailed down his sword sheath. Each drop traced every history that battles engraved. Eventually, the blood rolled to the floor where it was absorbed gratefully by the corrupt land.

Darkness engulfed this man and he welcomed it without a second thought. The darkness showed to him images of the details of the forest. It seemed that the darkness wanted in on the hunt as well.

The man's dense eyebrow twitched for a second when he felt a difference in air compression a couple of yards from him. He pulled all his concentration toward that direction to feel disclosure; that part of the area was camouflaged too well.

The dark smiled sinisterly and reached for his bloody sword with his left hand.

"Come, Beast of Rayearth, death will not wait for thee any longer."

A light flicked in the darkness for a second. If the warrior had blinked, then he would have missed the light.

"Rayearth… light left in such a place of darkness." taunted the man.

Two, three, four, …, then a hundred flickering lights danced wildly, faster and faster towards the man's direction.

The flickering light did not reveal darkness but weary and dull green eyes. It was defeat that the darkness was flooding into his lungs. But his path was set as darkness, from the moment he chose to wield his powers.

"Come Rayearth, do not leave me in darkness any longer."

* * *

It was heart wrenching to watch. The light was approaching and there was nothing to be done.

"_Please don't leave me_" A voice cried out with gut wrenching sobs.

There was a shower of stars raining down on them.

Was it a celebration or a cry from the heavens? It didn't matter any longer. Her light was approaching as his light was shining brighter and brighter.

"_I can't let you go! No!"_

How she favored the darkness that they shared together – but no longer…

Light. Light. Light. LIGHT!


	2. CR01: A Monster

Disclaimer: Magic Knight Rayearth does not belong to be but to CLAMP. However, all original ideas and characters belong to me. End disclaimer.

Three Cephiro

Chapter 1 – A Monster

If she were to take another breath, then her lungs would have burst from exhaustion. Exhaustion oozed down to her delicate legs, but adrenaline pumped Satie Mellar to run faster. Satie's beautiful long brown hair flayed behind her as her arms swayed hysterically.

_Faster._

_Faster._

Her elusive eyebrows winced as she turned her head in the direction of the forest. No matter how fast she was running away from the image that she saw in the forest, it was in vain. The gleaming fangs and merciless eyes that would collapse an empire clouded her vision.

The uneven ground did not help her escape. While overcoming the last downhill, she gasped in pain as she ran over gnarled tree roots. Unbeknownst to Satie, she had lost her shoes from the moment she came upon the nightmare.

Satie felt cold tears on her warm cheeks when she saw her tiny village.

_At last! _

Satie, biting her parched lower lip, forced her legs to move faster.

_Faster._

_Faster._

"OUCH!" cried out a voice.

Satie and the owner of the painful voice rolled on the ground after colliding with each other. Satie's body was momentarily paralyzed with fear.

"MY ROOTS! THEY'RE RUINED! DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG IT TOOK ME TO COLLECT AND DRY THESE!" accused the voice.

Satie's entire body was wet with perspiration. Never experience such activity before, Satie's lung protested to jump out of its place. Now pasted with dirt, her calves throbbed with relief.

"_M-m-mm-mm-mmmo_" stuttered Satie.

"I'm going to cry if these roots are unusable- what's wrong with you anyway?" said the voice.

The voice lowered in octaves when she noticed that her friend looked a lot like she had seen a ghost than mischief. She had stopped dusting off her priceless dried Astrailiuses and stared at her friend.

"_Sienne, m-mmmm-m-monster!_" screamed Satie. Satie tried to keep her vision clear, but the world was fading. Everything was slipping away, a feeling that always tasted bitter to Satie Mellar.

"Satie, what's wrong? What did you say?" Sienne immediately dropped the roots and quickly crawled to her friend. "ANYONE! HELP!" cried out Sienne. Sienne's dirty hands lightly slapped Satie's pale face. Sienne gently cradled her friends head on her lap and desperately looked around the nearby houses. "HELP!"

The repeated screams of Sienne brought curious neighbors who ran to help.

One by one, more helpers ran to help Satie Mellar. Most cried out obscenities when they saw their favorite child in such a helpless state. A couple of the villagers started leering at Sienne. Noting the displeasure coming from the crowd, she forced a slight smile as she clutched her cloak hood from her back to slowly cover her face, her identity. Once more, she was just a tall blur of brown standing without anyone's acknowledgement. As much as Sienne tried to lend a hand, the villagers pushed her out one by one until she was closed out of the circle. Not only were the villagers leering at her, some of the insensitive villagers pointed their honest fingers towards, blaming her for the situation.

At the sight of all the good Samaritans Sienne's heart ached with warmth. Satie was going to be okay. Sienne lowered her head to hide her face away from the angry mob. She brushed off her worn out working clothes and rubbed her hands together as the group ran with Satie further and further away from her. Sienne was alone once more with her healing roots. Sienne, making sure that her hair was tightly bound in her cloak, exhaled heavily.

Sienne bent low to pick up the remaining roots off the ground.

"She's going to be okay with everyone in the village looking after her. Don't worry."

She examined the very last root and blew air at it to get rid of the dirt between the grooves. After making sure that all the roots were perfectly dirt-free, she wiped her forehead in relief, leaving a wide smudge of dirt. Seeing that her basket was ruined from landing on it, she put the remaining roots in her apron pocket.

"Monster?" Sienne curiously turned toward the forest. "There are no such things." But Sienne could not look away from the dense trees. Biting on her plush lower lip, in turn showing light to her generous dimple on her right cheek, Sienne gripped onto her pockets tightly.

There were no such monsters.

It was her right foot that beckoned her curiosity to take action. With each step towards the forest, Sienne was hypnotized by the gentle swaying of the trees in the wind.

Her dark blue eyes glistened with the thought of adventure.

"Oy, Sienne, OY! We need more of those roots for Grandma Mellar and Satie. Get those legs moving, _you ungrateful beast_!" threatened the head of the village named Tem.

Sienne winced at first but turned slowly towards Tem under her cloak to slightly bow. Tem scoffed at Sienne's show of respect.

"You touched her you evil girl!" Tem's voice wasn't the least bit considerate.

"Satie was apparently spooked by an animal in the forest. She is not used to the forest, sir Tem." Sienne after her short bow began to turn around to leave to her duties stopped when she felt a sudden warm sensation on her cheek. Sienne touched her left cheek with a sleeve of her cloak to find a spot of Tem's spit.

"Everything that Lady Satie and Elder Mellar does for you. You had to go and scar our poor Lady Satie like that. You aren't even human." Tem's fat belly shook as he bellowed out a sinister laughter.

Sienne's cheeks flamed red with embarrassment. There was never a time where a villager would speak to her for this long, nevertheless that it was an insult of her existence. She wiped the remaining insult from her flushed cheeks and humbly bowed to the now Tem who could not believe that Sienne took the insult without an episode. Tem's real intention was to drag Sienne to police if she were to create any disturbance to a villager.

Sienne did no such thing. Her arms which were covered in her brown cloak grabbed her head piece to hide her face even more.

"I must take my leave. Elder Meyen needed these roots before nightfall." She got a couple steps in when Tem's meaty voice called after her again.

"This is a personal request from Elder Meyen. Although, why I need to deliver this message is … Hey dummy, you need to get some more of your roots. Lady Satie will not be exposed to the dirt ridden roots. Good luck, on your month long quest wench!" Tem's voice faded with the chilly autumn wind. Sienne looked up at the forest once more. Her dark blue eyes peep up from her hood, hoping to see a familiar face. There was no one.

Loneliness.

Loneliness slowly crept up her spine.

No. Sienne shook it off with a smile.

What was she thinking about? She had a grand adventure ahead of her!

Satie's screams of a monster echoed through her head.

"I am the monster…"


	3. CR02: A Talk by Candlelight

Disclaimer: Magic Knight Rayearth does not belong to me but all original ideas and characters are mine. End disclaimer.

Cephiro Ruins

CR 2: A Talk by Candlelight

"Grandma Mellar?"

Setie slowly opened her eyes to a dimly lit room. The only light source was a dim candle in the far corner.

"Take caution, child. Your body is still weak," said a distant raspy voice.

When she tried to get up, her head began to instantly spin in circles. Setie cradled her head in her hands in order to stop the spinning.

"My head … it hurts, grandma. What happened to me?" Setie's long silky black hair fluttered down to her lap as she leaned forward to rid of her headache. She felt a cold hand on her head. Setie looked up to see her old grandma. Leather face and hands, each crease on her revealed the long years of wisdom she had acquired.

If it weren't for the guidance of her grandma, the village would be in peril. As eldest of elders, she created a system to balance order in their village. Once there was tumultuous disorder of stealing, laziness, and even children who were left to fend for themselves. Setie could not remember when it all started; however, when Grandma Mellar took over as the leader of all Elders, the village turned for the best. Grandma Mellar established systems for harsh punishment and lenient counseling. As for the laziness of the village, she created a working calendar in which all villagers, young or old, would have to work in order to gain crops. The best program that Mellar adopted was the upbringing of the children who were left all by themselves. Grandma Mellar would bring the children into the village to institute the village as their parents. That way, the children will be brought up to join the village's work force.

Setie frowned when Grandma Mellar exhaled to sit next to her.

"Grandma, you don't have to sit by my bedside anymore. I'm all grown up now-"

Setie rolled her hazel eyes when the usual calm countenance of Grandma Mellar was distant and cold.

"What's wrong?" asked Setie.

"Monster, you say?"

"What?"

Grandma Mellar slowly turned her brittle head towards an impatient Setie.

"Monster… you told the villagers that you saw a monster in the forest. What were you doing in the forest in the first place? _It is forbidden_!" Mellar's tender voice had a tendency to change like a snake ready to strike. At one moment, it was tender and sweet, however another moment it may seem like it was melting your skin away.

_ "**Forbidden**_? But you allow Sienne to go in there all the time!" protested Setie. Setie's head, outraged by the sudden show of rage, began to spin once again. "I need a cup of the Astrailius tea." Setie hastily threw back her covers to stand up; however Grandma Mellar stopped her with her long wooden cane.

"Child, your temper is still as sharp as your mind." Grandma Mellar chuckled as she recalled a memory from the past. "But this is no time to talk about tempers. This is an important matter, indeed." Grandma Mellar's voice was tender once more.

Setie's frown turned upside down as curiosity got the best of her.

"What is this all about anyway? Can't this wait until I get some tea first?" asked Setie. Setie was impatient. Perhaps it was the way she was brought up; as the granddaughter of the leader of the Elder, she was not accustomed to wait or work for anything.

"No. We are currently out of roots. You must train your body to sustain without the tea everyday. I have sent Sienne to get some more, so we will not have any for at least another month." Grandma Mellar removed her cane from Setie's chest

"To the forest? What is so special about this forest anyway? I am the granddaughter of the leader of this village, I can do anything! Why is the forest restricted for me? How does a lowlife creature such as Sienne have more privileges than me?" Setie's small eyes narrowed like a hawk.

"So, you didn't see a monster?"

"WHAT MONSTER!" Setie's attitude blared out like a siren. She grabbed her long hair and braided it viciously. Near the end of the braid, she pulled out a beaded silk ribbon from her pocket to finish it off. Her braid was messy due to her anger.

Grandma Mellar chuckled in a low tone.

"Of all things to inherit, you had to inherit my temper. Answer me, so you didn't see a monster?"

"Of course not! There are no such things as monsters!"

"Then why did you scream like a monkey, causing everyone to worry?"

Setie shrugged her shoulders. "The village was getting too dull for my taste. I decided to spice up the rumor mill a bit."

Grandma Mellar's eyes narrowed to her granddaughter's nonchalant shrug.

"Tell me the truth."

"The truth is, I am tired of the same old routine! WORK! CHILDCARE! Is that all we do in this humdrum place?" Setie furiously tossed the covers back and stood up before Grandma Mellar could stop her.

Grandma Mellar leaned on her cane with her right hand and patted the straw-filled bed with her left hand, signaling Setie to take a seat. Setie, in the midst of her rebellion, eventually sat down with her arms crossed.

"My child, how you have grown… It was just yesterday that you were begging me for another story on my lap. Well, those happy times have passed but I would love to tell you one more story. This story is long overdue." Grandma Mellar searched the room, reminiscing of past times. Her tired and dull hazel eyes stopped at the flickering candlelight. Grandma Mellar took the turbulent candlelight as an ominous sign.

"I said, I'm SITTING. Talk away."

"Setie, times are changing. It is important to remember that change is a good thing; an opportune chance. We MUST change with the times or else we will fade away just like the monsters… Allow me to tell you of a place that could not change… _Cephiro_…"


	4. CR03: Anshell the Warrior

Disclaimer: Magic Knight Rayearth does not belong to me, but original ideas and characters belong to me. End disclaimer.

Cephiro Ruins

CR 03: Anshell the Warrior

"Easy… easy … easy…"

Sienne whispered to her friend. The night was deep and the stars twinkled above her. Her big furry friend made growling noises whenever Sienne came close to its wound on his chest; however, the animal seemed grateful for the help.

"You look a lot better, my proud friend. Look, the wound has already started to close. You are a very fast healer!"

Golden eyes looked down at Sienne and growled as Sienne peeled back the leaves that nurtured the big creatures delicate wound. Sienne had grinded the remaining Astrailius roots that she had and administered it to his wound. Sienne smiled when she caught the magnificent eyes staring down at her.

"Ah, an improvement on my part! Today, we have finally made eye contact! This moment is my happiest moment today, Anshell! By the way, I have decided to call you Anshell if you don't mind. Mr. Wolf does not seem to suit you." Sienne giggled once more.

The creature snorted at her, looking the other way. Sienne giggled even more when she saw that her newly found, although very proud, friend was being very stubborn to give her a chance.

Anshell was no monster. It has been a good month since she had left the village in search of the Astrailius roots. Her usual routine when she entered the forest is to visit her discrete waterfall to stock up on water and gather leaves and logs to supply her haven, a cave that she found when she was wondering around the forest as a child.

This time, unbeknownst to her, there was a guest in her haven. At first, just the sound of Anshell's growl made her heart drop to her feet. Anshell was a wolf with beautiful gold eyes. The only difference with Anshell and other wolves was that Anshell was at least ten times larger than the other wolves. Sienne never have seen Anshell's height, but even in the lying down position, his head was at least twice the size of Sienne standing up.

It took almost a month to befriend Anshell. It was still hard to approach Anshell, however, the giant wolf allowed Sienne approach him after a month of sitting next to the immobile Anshell. During that time, Sienne would tell him stories of adventure that she had read briefly in Setie's books as well as sing him songs that she had heard the villagers sing to their children. At first, he growled and snarled at Sienne's effort; however, having more stubbornness and tenacity than the giant wolf, the wolf seemed to give up. When Sienne would tell him the stories or sing him the songs, Anshell would have his large head turned away, however his ears were always turned in the direction of Sienne.

"So, did you like my story today, Anshell? Were you listening today? I know you don't really care for the princess and knight stories, but I absolutely adore them." Sienne observed Anshell's wound on his chest. The violent black fur around the wound had already started to grow, covering the now healthy skin.

"You are so special, Anshell!" Sienne arched her back to stare up at Anshell's golden eyes. "I have never seen anyone recuperate as fast as you… If I told anybody about it, they would tell me that I am a liar! It looks as if you didn't have any wound on you!" Sienne giggled as she felt Anshell's short snort, rifling her long brown cloak. Usually, she had her hood on at all times but seeing that Anshell would not judge her for looks, she had her hood down.

"Yes, I know you are amazing! I would say that you don't even have to have this bandage on you anymore. A couple of days and you should be fit to walk or run as you please. You are free."

Sienne secretly wished that this day would last as long as possible. She greatly enjoyed Anshell's presence. There was something about this magnificent giant wolf that attracted Sienne. Friendship, Sienne wished. She never had one before.

Sienne ran her hand through Anshell's thick fur on his chest. Her dimples showed when she felt the warmth of Anshell's chest.

"Anshell, you have such a warm heart. Strong too, why, it beats so magnanimously under my dirty hands," Said Sienne softly. Sienne, without a second thought, leaped into Anshell's chest. Sienne spread her arms out and much as she can so that she can share some of the warmth of Anshell.

Anshell seemingly annoyed by the actions of Sienne growled low and barked once. The vibrations from Anshell's growling caused Sienne to giggle.

"Alright, alright! You're trying to tell me to stop taking advantage of an immobile patient such as yourself, right? I couldn't resist, though!" Sienne reached out gently pat Anshell's nose. "You are just like the knight in my story, remember? The knight was such a stalwart warrior that he gave his life in every battle for the well being of his people. How courageous and romantic!" Sienne was now sitting on a small boulder in front of Anshell. "Why romantic? Well, it says in the book that being the handsome warrior that he is, princesses from all over the world flocked to his land to steal his heart. However, he knew that the only princess for him would be a lady with grace, elegance, and beauty to conquer his callused heart. I read this in Setie's book. Anshell was his name. Fantasy or not, if there was a warrior such as Anshell, I'm sure the world would be a brighter place." Sienne's usual dark blue eyes seemed to be brighter even though it was near midnight.

"I wanted to call you Anshell because, well, all the other names did not seem to fit a magnificent creature such as yourself. My Anshell!"

Anshell had his head down on the ground, away from Sienne. He grunted, sending a storm of dust into the air.

"Good night, Anshell. Tomorrow you are free." Sienne climbed down the boulder and situated herself at the foot of Anshell's toes and closed her eyes. The cave's smooth rocks were cold on her back but happiness gave her warmth. "Tomorrow, you are free, Anshell."

Usually the mornings were unpleasantly cold; however, Sienne was not cold that morning. Before Sienne could open her eyes, she tried to rub her nose when she noticed that her arms were pinned down with something heavy. Sienne opened her eyes to see a mass of black fur on top of her. She turned her head to see Anshell's bum in her face. Anshell was using his tail as a blanket for Sienne. Sienne was shocked by Anshell's implicit kindness. For the time being, Sienne wanted to cherish the remaining time with Anshell. She pretended to remain asleep, but Anshell, having sensed that Sienne was awake removed his tail away from Sienne.

"Hey, now!" protested Sienne. She jumped up and to see that Anshell was sitting up.

A part of her heart was leaping with joy; however the other was brimming with sadness to see that the time to part with Anshell was nearing.

Anshell's height towered over Sienne.

"Hungry? Do you think you can wa-" before Sienne could finish her sentence, Anshel leaped over Sienne and out of the cave.

"Show off!" Sienne's mouth gaped open when she saw the true grace of Anshell. Sienne walked toward Anshell to evaluate his chest one more time. There wasn't even a single disturbance. "Amazing! Your healing abilities are … I can't even start to describe it!"

Anshell yawned loudly and began to stretch out his body. Because Anshell was as tall as two cows, Sienne made sure to stay clear of him so that she wouldn't get trampled.

"I guess you aren't hungry. I have held you long enough." Sienne's heart ached but this was right. "But, I guess this is goodbye, friend. Stay well." Sienne's messy hair shawl revealed some of her odd colored hair, but that wasn't important right now.

Anshell looked at her and cocked his head to one side as Sienne's eyes brimmed with tears.

"Oh, who am I kidding!" Sienne began to bawl as she ran toward the confused Anshell. The wolf cocked his head to the other side as Sienne began to run to him. Sienne ran to his leg and hugged it with all her might.

Anshell growled softly but did not move until Sienne moved away from his leg.

"I'm going to miss you, Anshell. Thank you for your kindness." Sienne dried her eyes on his fur and stepped back.

Sienne smiled at Anshell and waved. Anshell sat down on the ground and looked down at Sienne with his beautiful golden eyes.

"Go on, you are free." Whispered Sienne. Sienne began to walk backwards away from Anshell, waved one last time, and turned around. Sienne sadly walked away from Anshell.

"Almost … almost." After a day of despair, Sienne got back to trying to find some Astrailius roots for Elder Mellar. It took some time to gather her concentration, but in the end, she was able to find her first root. Finding the roots was not a problem for Sienne, it was getting to them that was a problem. The roots were always in hard to reach places that often placed Sienne in danger, however Sienne risked everything to keep her word to Elder Mellar.

Her arm muscles ached as she stretched with all her might to reach out for the Astrailius flower. Her feet were on the tips of her toes on a slender tree branch high above the ground to reach for the flower.

"Come on…" Sienne gritted her teeth to stretch a little more. Perhaps she was pushing herself too much because the tender branch snapped with the pressure that she was putting on the branch.

"AHHHHH!"

Sienne felt tree branches scratch her on the way down. She tasted blood in her mouth. The shawl that was tightly wrapping her hair was rudely snatched from her as well. Her long hair flayed freely in the wind. The fall was endless. Had she climbed that high?

Sienne covered her head, expecting excruciating pain when she landed on the ground but instead of an impact with the ground, she gagged for a second as the flashing world came to a sudden halt.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Thinking her cloak had gotten caught by tree branch, she sighed with relief. Sienne tried to move her hair away from her face when she felt a warm breeze run through her hair. Sienne froze immediately. She put her hands over her face in anticipation of any attack.

Whatever caught her gently placed her on the ground and then it began to sniff around her wounds. Sienne slowly removed her hands from her face to see a curious looking Anshell sitting in front of her.

"Anshell…" Sienne did not even notice the tears running down her cheeks. "I'm so worthless. Why did you come back for me?" Sienne raised her hand when Anshell leaned his nose close to her tears. She touched his whiskers as her tears flowed out of her eyes.

Anshell first licked her tears and then her wounds.

Sienne tried to stay strong and hold the tears back, but each time Anshell licked her wounds, she felt as if her warrior Anshell was protecting her.

Protected. It was a good feeling.

Sienne's world blacked out but she knew that Anshell would be there for her when she woke up.

For some reason, Sienne knew that her world would never be the same again.


End file.
